To fleet… or not to fleet? That is the question.Whether ‘tis nobler on the land to plunderThe twists and turns of uncertain theatreOr to bide time amidst a storm of othersAnd by waiting end them.

THE WISE OLD WEASEL: ENGLAND

Neville Chamberlain, shortly after deciding to convoy off the island after securing “peace in our time” with France.He lost Liverpool the next year.

THE THINGS I REMEMBER FROM HIGH SCHOOL LIT: YOUR ENGLISH OVERVIEW

England’s a pretty good country. Gave us America, after all. In terms of Diplomacy, it has arguably the least complex path to the top out of any nations, though build choices are crucial to earning big tops. It has 3 viable alliance options that can deliver strong midgame position. On the downside, England has two great vulnerabilities -- the channel in 01 and covering Liverpool in the midgame. I don’t give a shit if France showed you his orders, Neville Chamberlain, cover your backside.

As mentioned above, England is a very top-friendly nation, ranking first historically in top percentage and tied for first in average dots. HOWEVER, last season was not too kind to England, as it ranked fifth in tops and 6th in average dots.

I’ll lead with my favorite weird correlation: England is Italy’s 2nd worst, whereas Italy is England’s 4th worst. That means English success is much worse for the Italian than vice-versa. See more about this in WOW: Italy.

England has a positive correlation with Turkey (1), the second strongest in the game behind FR. Austria (2) is a suitable replacement. Italian (3) success can be a nuisance but isn’t a huge deal -- if you’re worried about Iberia, you’re having a good day. Russian (4) and French (5) success are about equally bad for Britain, while German (6) success is the worst for English prospects.

Though few English tops are explosive due to its difficulty getting armies on the continent, both Nate Cockerill and John Gramila have soloed with England (click name for game link). Jim O’Kelley also did before we moved to the Queen’s scoring system, Sum of Squares.

ACTUALLY USEFUL ENGLISH LITERATURE

Editor’s note: some links on the Pouch are currently broken. I’ll put these back up once they start working.

First, I should introduce myself. I’m Jake Trotta, a new member of the hobby and the Minister of Public Information (or “Speaky Weasel”) for the Windy City Weasels. Our club goals are to grow the hobby and develop championship caliber players. Both objectives require players to learn and develop their game, so I’d like to share a bit about my own development in the hopes that it may help other future players (and Weasels) with theirs. After winning my first tournament, I went through a very difficult 6-month plateau in the hobby. I wanted to get better and tried to improve at the 3 aspects of the game (negotiation, strategy, tactics). I was reading articles, playing gunboat games, getting a lot of games in. But the results weren’t matching my effort level. I lost the league lead, got slammed at WDC, wasn’t enjoying the game as much, and was certainly less fun to play with. After getting eliminated first in our club title game, the Weasel Royale, I asked another player on the board where I was going wrong. “You’re just not having fun anymore,” he told me. That moment made me realize something—a fourth (and perhaps most important) dimension to the game. Attitude. What mentality am I bringing to the board? How is that impacting my negotiation? Strategy? Tactics? If I don’t establish a defined, constructive relationship between myself and the board, it is, by necessity, going to be very difficult to establish constructive relationships with my boardmates. That realization changed the way I evaluate the board, my game, and myself, sparking a rapid period of growth. The following are a set of 10 insights that helped break me out of that mental box.

Hit the jump for 10 (10!) ways to elevate your game!

1) You are the only common thread on every board you’ll ever play

Let’s start with a blindingly obvious one. There’s so much that is out of your control in a Diplomacy game— openings alone have thousands of possible combinations—but the one thing you do control is yourself. Fortunately, you are also going to be involved in every board you’ll ever play. This means your focus should always be on you, developing yourself for future games. On every board, your primary objective should obviously be to win. But after that, your goal should be to LEARN—what may feel like defeat today is the bedrock of tomorrow’s victory.

2) It’s Always Your Fault

There is a danger when we do not share the same opinion as someone to blame them for our troubles. If they don’t do it my way, they must be wrong. But that is a cop out. Wishing someone else was better at Diplomacy will never make me better at Diplomacy. Diplomacy is a game of collaboration. In order to collaborate, we need to win others over to our way of thinking, or find a means to make their way of thinking work for us. Therefore, no matter which route we tried to take, the failure is our fault. So blame yourself! If you weren’t able to get on the same page with another player, evaluate your own responsibility in that after the game. You can always improve your negotiation, but you’ll never get the chance if you’re not willing to meet the other person where they are. Don’t reject their stance—move yours to take advantage of it.

Diplomacy does not always, or perhaps not even often, reward the player who performed best. You can’t force a victory in a Diplomacy board. Even solos involve someone else messing up. So in the majority of games, the rest of the board has to agree on who the victor is. Since it is impossible to control the result of the game, there will be times where you played better than anyone on the board and don’t top, and times you top when your play didn’t merit victory. Your objective is to play well enough to win and improve. Better to commend yourself for strong play that gave you a shot to win than to celebrate a win you didn’t really earn.

4) Get to the Dance

Right before I left Tempest (and just before my hot streak started), I overheard a conversation between Chris Martin, former World Champ and one of the world’s best players, and Brandon Fogel, another Chicago up and comer. Brandon asked Chris how he was so dominant, and Chris’s response was very insightful about his attitudinal approach to Diplomacy. “If I make it out of my theater, I expect to get first or second on every board.” Diplomacy World #138 – Summer 2017 - Page 6 Here’s what I gleaned from that comment about how to evaluate your Diplomacy game. The first benchmark is to evaluate whether you got out of the gate, or, as I say in my negotiation, “get to the dance.” (No relation to Chris’s ‘Dancing Queen’ nickname.) That shifted my thinking from “I need to be ahead going into the midgame” to “I need to be in the midgame, hopefully with decent position.” There’s also an element of self-trust: I don’t need to shark my way to a win by 03, I just need to believe that if I’m viable in 06, I’ve got a great chance. Early in my career, I felt the need to win all the time, both on each board and in each season. By shifting my mentality to simply getting to the dance, I’m less threatening and easier to play with… and I’ve made more dances.

5) Quitting is for quitters

You’re going to have games when things go wrong and prospects of victory are minimal. Sometimes, you’re going to be a 1 or 2 center country in a world of 8 center powers. Your primary goal-victory- is likely out the window. The bar (or sleep) will be calling you, and it may feel like the time to throw in the towel. But giving up will only prevent you from accomplishing your secondary objective- developing your game. The truth is, while major powers contend for victory, minor powers often decide who wins. In most games, support of a dying power will be a necessary condition to your victory- so being a dying power is a tremendous opportunity to learn how to work with them in games where you are a contender. So don’t quit—play your heart out! Try out different secondary goals that you’ve seen other smaller powers play. By doing so, you’ll gain a better empathy for the minor power, and be better able to leverage them in future games. Plus, if the board breaks the right way, you have a chance for a comeback. Quitters never come back.

6) No one gives a damn about you or your plans… but everyone needs a best man

One of the most common, but also pedantic, pieces of advice Diplomacy players give each other is “try to think of it from my perspective.” As a Diplomacy player, it is quite easy to get stuck in your own head. You’re going to develop a philosophy of the game, motivation for why you play, what you want out of each board. It is crucial for you to understand these things about yourself, but frankly, your ally won’t give a damn about your perspective. Don’t bother sharing it unless it helps develop your relationship. When people tell you “think of it from my perspective,” what you may hear is “talk about my goals and board dynamics to make them happen.” That may even be what they think they’re saying. But what they really mean is “I want to feel heard.” Five other players are going to be speaking to their functional needs—tactics, strategy, what have you. If you can identify your opponent’s emotional desires for the game and cater to them, they will feel they’ve got a friend on the board that understands and appreciates them. Players want a winner who made them feel good and enjoy themselves (if they cannot win themselves). So don’t talk only about yourself or logistics—be their best man. Which is to say, provide whatever emotional support they need to make the right choices.

7) Mold yourself to the culture

Every location you play in (and, to a degree, every board you play) will have a different culture to it. Some of this is scoring system based—if the broader incentives are to reduce draw size, people will play differently than in a center-based system. It doesn’t matter if you think drawbased scoring is a relic of a bygone era that should be eradicated or that 1902 is a little early to be thinking about the stalemate line. The culture won’t change to fit you—you need to move to meet the board/club/tournament/league where it is at. In our club, this can be particularly difficult. We play Sum of Squares, which some new players aren’t familiar with. To compound that challenge, half our games are timed bar games with a preset end time. This makes for a crazy, frantic, stabby final year in nearly every game. Some new Weasels struggle to adapt to this more fluid, less alliance based style of play. Conversely, some Weasels are excellent in the bar games, but struggle in our untimed house games. Instead of stewing over why your fastball isn’t working, try adding the changeup or a curve to your arsenal. The strongest players are able to play different styles based on the scoring system and culture around them. Diplomacy World #138 – Summer 2017 - Page 7

8) Paint with all the colors of the wind

Something I’ve noticed about the world’s best players is that their statistics are remarkably similar across all 7 countries. Even if they have a favorite, it won’t be too much stronger than the remaining 6. What this means is that the best players are adaptable. They can play any power, take any board situation, and make beautiful music to maximize their shot at winning. The reason most Diplomacy players stall out is because they only want/know how to play one or two notes. They know how to act under certain board dynamics, perhaps only as certain countries. These players tend to be boom or bust. When they play as their favorite country, or when board dynamics fit their style, look out. But in games where they can’t follow their script, they get eliminated. These players can take advantage when things break the right way, but can’t make things happen on any board. So step outside your comfort zone. If you know you’re weak at a certain country, ask to play it. If you always open to Armenia as Turkey, try playing patient. If you’ve never allied with a certain player, give them a shot. You can only expect to thrive in situations you’ve prepared for. You can only prepare for situations you’re open to considering.

9) Steel sharpens steel

It is easy to be bitter or envious when someone else wins (especially if they win frequently). But if we fail to recognize why they won and what about their game is superior, we fail to grow our own games. By admiring and emulating the competition, we can best become better players. To be fair, that can be a big emotional ask. Not only is Diplomacy a zero-sum game, it is also a game of personality. When we see our competitors select another player as the winner, it can easily lead to some resentment. In our club, we complain about other players being “dot-grabbing bastards,” but our club mascot is the Weasel: cunning, slimy, endlessly deceptive. Complaining about a Weasel out-Weaseling you is both counterproductive and against the spirit of the hobby. Instead of being bitter (okay, maybe give yourself a minute to be bitter), diagnose exactly how the other person bested you—and either seek to emulate it, or create a strategy to counter that in your next game. Competitors are not obstacles to victory, but the grindstone through which we sharpen our own abilities.

10) The pen is mightier than the stab

If you are serious about improving your Diplomacy game, write AARs. It is much more difficult to improve your game if you don’t analyze it. I’ve written an AAR for every game I’ve played in the past year or so. My longest was about four pages, my shortest was one sentence (“Don’t order Naples-Ion-Naples in 1901.”) Without them, I may not have discovered the prior 9 insights. Before I wrote AARs, I would learn something new every 4-5 games. Now, I learn something new every board and have a recorded history of all those learnings. Through AARs, you can really get a read on how your game is developing from tactics, strategy, negotiation, and attitude. It gives you an opportunity to diagnose what went wrong and correct it. Even if you don’t have time to write a year-by-year analysis, listing what the key moments and learnings from each game will improve your game faster than anything.

June, the start of sundress/ wedding season, is fittingly named after the Roman goddess Juno. Juno was the goddess of marriage, but really, she was the goddess of jealousy. She’d stroll out of her Mount Olympus high rise, see all these nymphs (in the classical sense) in their sundresses holding hands with their boyfriends (or her husband Zeus/ Jupiter), and be filled with envy. That envy inspired her to turn people into cows, start wars, or send literal Furies after her enemies. Really, there are only two kinds of stories in Roman Mythology: ones where Juno aggressively seeks vengeance, and ones where she does not.

Passive Juno allowed the continent we push blocks around to be named after her husband’s slam piece.

Aggressive Juno orchestrated the fall of Troy.

You know what they say about Italians- they learn best from their mothers. This, Weasels, is where we share our wisdom.

THE WISE OLD WEASEL: ITALY

A disappointed, passive Juno surveying her four center Italy, about to be squeezed in 1908.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME- YOUR ITALIAN OVERVIEW

Now like Juno, Italy doesn’t have to be constantly aggressive, but it must be jealous. Italy’s great challenge is getting stuck on 4 centers, home and Tunis, until the end of time. In fact, Italy only gets out of the gate, which our stats department defines as reaching 7 centers, in 33% of games, worst of the seven powers. But a strong Italy, with its variety of weapons and targets, brings havoc across Europe.

Italy is uniquely positioned between the theatres and at the edge of the stalemate line, if you count Tunis. Early game involves a fun variety of openings and establishment in one theatre, midgame requires a strategic maintenance of tempo and unit mix, the end game a vast kaleidoscope of solo possibilities.

THE SECTION WHERE WE PUBLICLY ASK FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS, AT TIMES BY NAME

Drop a comment for how you best (or least best) play Italy. Brandon and Jim both had some solid results last year they could perhaps speak to. I find that Chris Kelly often does well on the boot, consistently hitting 7+ as the Italian. Perhaps Bull Weasel and Turkey superfan Matt “the Sundstrom” Sundstrom could share some thoughts on how Italy can best annoy Turkey, its biggest threat? Not to forget subprime Weasel John Gramila soloed with Italy at the 2016 WDC.

Hit the jump for stats department report on Italy, best club results, and Jake’s most recommended Italian articles.

GREAT WEASEL HEROES OF EPICS PAST

Italy ranks sixth in board tops, with 10% of Italian seizing the day successfully. Italian success is best correlated with Russian success, followed by the Germans. Italian not success is correlated with Turkey, followed by England (!), then Austria and France. That’s an interesting snafu in the data-logic would suggest France is the bigger threat for elimination, but it seems any witches success is most devastating towards Italy’s prospects. This season has been meh for Italy, with the third highest average score, but the second least tops.

The peak of club Italian Renaissance came in game 250, as David St. John nearly crossed the metaphorical Rubicon on his way to 17 dots and 73 points. The best bar Italy was a 16-center, 69 point effort this season by your own dear Speaky Weasel, his second time as a bridesmaid this season.

THE WISE OLD WEASEL: FRANCEI’m supposed to say nice things about French culture here. But here’s the truth: Napoleon was a goddamn Italian, and France lost both World Wars. They invented the word “surrender.”

France is so laughably overpowered on the diplomacy board, with their embarrassment of neutrals, difficult to play neighbors, arguably second best defensive position in the game, and natural resting state along the stalemate line. In diplomacy, France is unquestionably the best. They practically always win. It's almost like the game was created for them to dominate. Wait a minute...

PREAMBLETeam Freedom, World's Greatest Nation and normally the strongest nation on the board, is having a great year, winning 13 of 30 boards so far. This nearly doubles the second place nation, but still does not match our dominance in World Series Championships. You're freaking welcome, every other country.

Perhaps the most difficult challenge in playing America is the same challenge as being an American- what do I do with all this FREEDOM?

We thank France for the Statue of Liberty, democratic revolutions, and pissing off England. The greatest country in the world perfected all 3.

All right, Weasels. Uncle Sam needs you. How do you play France America?

Hit the jump for some great American history, ballads of bald eagle resurgences, how we have the best allies, and more.

THE GREAT PATRIOTS OF WEASEL POSTERITYMuch like our finest achievement in literature, Star Wars, America’s peak greatness is the story of an underdog. Rookie upstart/ simple farm boy with big dreams Zane Blanton piloted God’s chosen people to 13 supply centers, one for each of the original colonies, a 61 point effort. A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.

American success is most correlated with Russia. In fact, that relationship has the strongest positive correlation of any in the game. This message brought to you by the Trump administration.

Austria and Turkey have about an equal negative correlation, with Italy shortly behind. England and Germany both have strong, though about equally strong, negative correlations, as is tradition for being in the same theatre.

THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVELISTSYou can’t storm the beaches of Normandy without the Sea Lion.

Weasels, it is the Ides of March, the date of the most famous stab in human history.

Julius Caesar, renowned politician, general, diplomatic, lover and Protector of Rome took Italy all the way to 17 centers in 44 BC, with all of France, Belgium, Iberia, all of Italy, Tunis, Trieste, Serbia, Greece, Bul, and all of Turkey. (Yes, we here at the Wise Old Weasel counted the dots.)

But just before he could call himself Julius Solo, Caesar’s senate compatriots formed a grand alliance to stop him. Antony, Caesar’s most loyal ally, gave a moving eulogy… and summarily pardoned the assassins.

Today is a day we celebrate the stab, the crux of this great game we call diplomacy. Whether you are Casca, rushing into the shoulder blade first, Cassius, who swung for the face and missed, or Brutus, the beloved brother who stuck a sword in his side, we all have our memorable stabs.

On this Ides of March, do not merely beware, but relish in the thrill of stabbing and, yes, being stabbed.

So, Weasels, let us stab the day and share our great war stories and sage stab advice below.

The hills are alive with the sound of music- but will you be around to hear it? Greece and Bulgaria are some of my favorite things, but you need a German older and wiser keeping Russia out of Gal for you! Can climb every mountain? Will Edelweiss bless your homeland forever? Or will F02 leave you singing “so long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu?”

Austria, like the dear family Von Trapp, is surrounded by danger. But, if you make it past the awkward introduction, it is a classic that can last for years. Sure, you’re the only country that could realistically die by fall 02 without having made any real mistakes. But, if you hit 7, you’re everyone’s defensive nightmare with a ton of super fun options.

But those first two years are a real problem between preventing a juggernaut, overly stabby Italies, Galician headaches, deciding who gets Rumania, and ensuring that you’ll even survive to S03.

Hit the jump for correlation stats (with a new out-of-the-gate statistic!), the great Austria performances of Weasels past, and Austria strategy recommendations. Comment with your own Austrian strategic advice.

WHEN AUSTRIA WAS MADE GREAT

Austria ranks fifth in top percentage and average score, earning or splitting the top in 12% of games. A new stat we’re using here at the Wise Old Weasel is “Out of the Gate percentage,” which is the frequency a nation makes it to the midgame. This is calculated by percentage of games in which the country hits 7 centers. Here Austria checks in again at 5th, hitting 7 in 42% of games.

Austrian success is best correlated with Germany, followed by England, then France, then Italy, Russia, and finally Turkey. AT has the strongest negative correlation of any two nations on the board.

The best Austria since Sum of Squares was in game 201, when Mr. Brad Harrington Hauled in a quality 16 dot, 65 point performance.

ANNALS OF AUSTRIAN WISDOM, ALSO KNOWN AS THE SECTION JAKE NEEDS TO UPDATE:

Editor’s note: I’ll be linking things once I track them down. Old game recaps, strategic articles, dipcast, and so-forth will go here.

A gray sky surrounds the grayer plains… or is it snow? There is nothing around except a few bare trees, no one to talk to, no place for respite. It is cold, damn cold. There is no more Ritz to be Putin on. You inhale, reeking of friends lost and hopelessness, but the only showers here are (allegedly) used to blackmail other, more important players.

Do you have what it takes to survive the winter? This, weasels, is where we share our Wisdom.

THE WISE OLD WEASEL—RUSSIA

INTRODUCTION

“Why does this club hate Russia?” ponders club founder and Soviet sweetheart Jim O’Kelly. Verily, Russia is the most difficult country to play in this club, as it is the least likely to top or split a top.

Perhaps it is because of this club’s proclivity to the Sundstrom/ Armenia opening. Perhaps it is because Germany tends to bounce Sweden. Perhaps it is because two units are often bounced in S01. Perhaps it is the lack of guaranteed builds. Perhaps it is because Russia always happens to look big. Perhaps it is because Germany is too eager to move east. Perhaps it is because it neighbors nearly every nation and has the most number of “strategically imperative” diplomatic conversations early in the game. Perhaps Weasels are just fulfilling their patriotic duty.

Much like matryoshka doll, each Russian problem just opens up into another Russian problem. Playing Russia can be a real bear.

Quit Stalin and drop by the comments to leave your motherland musings.

Hit the JUMP for Russia stats, correlations, and the part where Jake posts links he knows are broken and reminds himself to correct them later.

{jcomments on}

HAMMER AND SICKLE STATISTICS

Now for some good news-this season has been relatively kind to Russia. While only two Czar’s have topped (tied for 5th least), only two have been eliminated (tie for 3rd.) Russia’s average score this season is 12.91, good for 5th. Perhaps the most promising note- Turkey is currently the most eliminated nation with 7.

Historically, Russia is dead last in number of board tops and split tops, coming in just under 10%. The greatest Russian result since the switch to Sum of Squares was a SOLO by Peter Yeargin in game 112. However, since sum of squares the best Russian performance was a 16-dot Kevin O’Kelly effort in game 193. Interestingly, Kevin went from 6 to 10 in 1902-then stayed at 10 for four years! Maybe Kevin remembers this game and can fill us in?

Correlation stats will be coming, but you'd like to see F and I do well.

CZARRY, NOT CZARRY: YOUR RUSSIAN STRATEGY OF YORE

These links will work at some point, like once I finish updating the Turkey links. Anyways, here’s some of my fave Russia strat articles.

Turkey, Thanksgiving cornerstone and diplomatic "Cancer in the Corner," is next up because of the aforementioned holiday.

A reminder of what we're doing here:

Weasels near and far, let us gather and share our collective wisdom on the play of individual powers in this great game. All are encouraged to comment with their perspective on playing each power effectively. For newer weasels, this should be a tremendous resource to quickly learn the game. For older weasels, this blog will provide areas to search for improvement and share discoveries. And for the oldest of Weasels, this blog is an outlet for the fruit of their many years in the hobby. This, Weasels, is where we share our wisdom.

Topics of conversation may include openings, negotiation, alliances, how to solo, how to play from behind, anything and everything that feeds into the proper play of the nation. Reminder: this is specific to club Turkish play under the one true scoring system, Sum of Squares.

Gobble up your Turkish tactics after the jump.

INTRO TO TURKEY

Turkey may have limited early game strategic options, but is damn hard to kill and is perhaps the easiest nation to come from behind in. Your game may start slow, but if an opportunity presents itself, you may be, as they say, "jiving."

Since we moved to SOS, Turkey is right in the middle in terms of topping percentage, coming in 4th in total tops at 14%. It is 5th in lone tops at 12%. The best Turkey game in League play was a 55 point, 13 center by John Gramila. However, Matt Sundstrom just became Bull Weasel on a 15 center, 60 point Turkey trout, granting him the Greatest of All Turkeys.

Matt as Top Turkey should surprise no one- if you haven't experienced the Sundstrom opening in league play, you've seen a Chicago player do it in a tournament. I'll let the Top Turkey/ Bull Weasel detail the opening in the comments.

Turkish success is most correlated with British, then German success. Shout out to Bryan Pravel, who likes the ET "Witches" alliance enough for me to prompt him to share (we're very subtle with our social pressuring here at the Wise Old Weasel). Turkish downfall is most strongly correlated with Austria, then Russia and Italy are about equal threats.

TURKISH KNOWLEDGE OF YORE

Unfortunately, Diplom.org has been down for a bit (anyone know about this?). I'm posting the articles anyways- if we can't find a fix, I can provide an alliance structure overview. Dipcast will still work.

That should be enough to get us started, but there are plenty of questions. When should Turkey play aggressive early? How can an IT work? How about Armenia (Matt?) Why not Armenia (Chris Martin?) Why is black such a big deal? What happens if Russia builds a second fleet in the South (Chris Kelly maybe?) Where is your 18? Can you afford to give Italy Greece? Should you ever build an army before a fleet? What about playing Turkey in a bar game (Jim?)

Weasels near and far, let us gather and share our collective wisdom on the play of individual powers in this great game. All are encouraged to comment with their perspective on playing each power effectively. For newer weasels, this should be a tremendous resource to quickly learn the game. For older weasels, this blog will provide areas to search for improvement and share discoveries. And for the oldest of Weasels, this blog is an outlet for the fruit of their many years in the hobby. This, Weasels, is where we share our wisdom.

Topics of conversation may include openings, negotiation, alliances, how to solo, how to play from behind, anything and everything that feeds into the proper play of the nation. Reminder: this is specific to club German play under the one true scoring system, Sum of Squares.

First up, we have GERMANY, because of Octoberfest and, more importantly, because it is your writer’s favorite country.

INTRO TO GERMANY

In spring 01, Germany borders more powers than any other nation. This can lead to explosive early growth, but can also lead to… well, I’ll let Hitler tell you.

Since we switched to sum of squares, no Kaiser has soloed. The best Anchluss in club history was a 75.3, 15 center result in game 274 by club veteran and game theory aficionado Matt Sundstrom. Germany is the third most likely country to board top, earning just under 18% of tops.

Brandon Fogel’s correlation analysis of alliances found that the German success is most correlated with the success of Austria, Italy, or Turkey (respectively). German downfall comes as the result of E, F, and R (respectively).

Germany poses many questions: How to sustain early growth? Should you bounce Russia out of Sweden, or turn towards him early (Jim may have something on that)? Who is your best ally and why is it Italy? What about western triples? What to do about Belgium? Can you cross the line with an ally?

What say you, Weasels?

GERMAN KNOWLEDGE OF YORE

This section will be for past Dip pouch articles/ dipcast episodes that may be useful in learning the nation.